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Daily Archives: December 27, 2007

This is simply a matter of a bigger, stronger team overwhelming the smallish Pirates.

N.C. State posted a 41-31 edge on the boards and shot 55 percent from the floor, including 60 percent in the second half, mostly by banging the ball inside.

Former Seton Hall Prep star Brandon Costner was relatively quiet (nine points, nine boards) but made the game’s biggest play. With NC State up 69-67, he got trapped along the left wing and barely beat a five-second call, delivering a pass to teammate Ben McCauley for an open layup.

The Pirates’ press was effective, forcing 18 turnovers, but that number could have been much higher had they not shot 5-of-21 from 3-point range. You’ve got to make shots to throw on the pressure.

Is this a harbinger for the Big East season?

OBSERVATIONS:

The crowd of 9,800 was the Hall’s first sellout at The Rock. Next week’s Big East opener against UConn will be a sellout as well.

Love, love, love the curtain closing off the upper level. It definitely increases the noise level and the atmosphere. The place rocked tonight. Great job by the fans. Word is SHU will leave it curtained for the UConn game. It’s going to be a tough ticket.

Seton Hall was trying to win back-to-back games against ACC teams for the first time in one season since 1988-89.

Several former players were in the house, including Donald Copeland, Grant Billmeier, Marcus Toney-El and Jerry Walker. Cope has been playing in Poland; Grant in Germany.

It was like old times in the press room, with J.P. Pelzman of The Record joinng me in our Rock debuts. Thanks for the shout-outs to those of you who said hello. Good to be back.

NOW TO THE GONZO QUOTES:

We had an interesting conversation in the locker room.

I thought their big people outclassed us a little bit. They have so much size. I though we got worn down in the paint a little bit.

The fact that they had big wings who could see over our press and throw over the top hurt us tremendously. We codn trurn them over as much as we would have liked.

We just had too many guys not play well for us tonight. Jamar Nutter didn’t score. Larry Davis was trying too hard beause he wanted to play well.

ON GOING TO A BIG LINEUP: We thought about it. The problem is, we have so much trouble scoring on offense when we do that, that’s where the Michael Glover thing just killed us. We’re bigger defensively but we can’t move our feet in the paint quick enough, and on the offensive end it’ s an adventure.

On Costner’s play to avoid the five-second call: We had Brandon Costner on the ropes, and he found Ben McCauley by luck. He threw a wild pass. Ben McCauley lays it in. Huge play. We get the ball back and score and that could have been the game right there.

We’ve had so much good fortune at home and we were so used to winning games. We would get down 15, 19 points and them come back. This is too good a team. This is N.C State. They’re too big.

You’ve got to make shots. If we were going to beat them tonight, we were going to beat them from the outside. For us to beat them we had to turn them over and beat them from the perimeter.

Afterwards: I told them the truth: We didn’t get he 50-50 balls, we didn’t get the second and third tips, we didn’t get the scrap plays that we needed to get.

On the crowd:We had 9,800 in the house. It showed we’re heading in the right direction. We created some excitement, some buzz, it’s very unfortunate we didn’t win.We needed to win tonight so there’s 13,000 for the UConn game and it didn’t happen.When that doesn’t happen you’ve got to go back to the drawing board and say OK, maybe it’s not our time. Maybe we’re not ready for a win like that. But we’re not going to stay that way.

JOHN GARCIA:It was good because it simulated a Big East game for us. It was the first legit, Big East-type team we played with the size. At the end of the game they kind of wore us down a little bit. Give NC State credit, they made the plays.

We have a young team. A lot of guys, this was their first time on a big stage like that. The veteran guys were to pick them up. You could tell they (NC State) were little more seasoned. But we played our best.

It’s a loss, I can’t talk about moral victories, but one thing we can get out of it, it does prepare us for the Big East.

On how he feels: My stamina is great. Its getting better and better every game.

Have no idea what to make of this game. You can make an equal case for a commanding Pirate win, another overtime thriller or an N.C. State victory. I’m curious as to what my betting friends think. I do think there will be a good crowd.

Hoops Haven will have a full report after the press conference.

Stopped in at the Vaughn Stapleton Tournament yesterday. Piscataway just handcuffed Immaculata 47-32. Great D by those Chiefs, who share the ball well on offense but need to take better care of it to make that next step — and compete with the state’s elite teams. It should be interesting when they face Bridgewater today. My right-hand man Kevin Wright will be there.

The lineup for the New Jersey Sports Writers’ banquet is taking shape. There are some good last-minute additions. I will update that shortly.

About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.